The present invention relates to a device for storing and conditioning butter and in particular to a device which maintains butter at a predetermined temperature to safely store the butter while not refrigerating the butter and making it too hard to easily use.
Butter is not able to maintain a satisfactory consistency over a very large range of temperatures. If refrigerated, it is too hard. If "left out" of the refrigerator at room temperature, it will become too soft or melt at ambient temperatures greater than approximately 80.degree. F. Attempts have been made to introduce air into butter to make it appear softer after refrigeration. Such products, while better, do not solve the underlying problem.
Margarine and other similar spreads which remain soft and are easily spread over a large range of temperatures have been developed due to the difficulty in maintaining a satisfactory consistency of butter. Some of these products are soft enough to be spread on bread immediately after refrigeration and remain at a desirable consistency at high ambient temperatures. However, as people understand the health problems associated with margarine and other butter substitutes, they are returning to real butter.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a device for storing and conditioning butter by maintaining the butter at a desired temperature at which the butter is not too hard and is not too soft, regardless of the ambient temperature.
It is an advantage of the device of the present invention that the butter can be located where it is readily accessible for table use such as a counter top or similar location. The butter is stored at the desired temperature awaiting use. For ease of use, the device includes a housing which is simply dropped over a butter dish that is resting on a counter or table top surface.
The housing forms a butter chamber that is open from the bottom. The housing and bottom opening are preferably sized to receive two sticks of butter by placing the housing over the butter sticks. The counter or table top surface closes the open bottom of the butter chamber so that the butter is enclosed within the chamber. A heating and/or cooling device, such as a thermoelectric cooler, is provided in the housing to heat or cool the air as necessary to maintain the butter at an optimum temperature. A thermostat is provided for both determining the current temperature of the air within the butter chamber and for activating the heating and cooling device to either heat or cool, as needed, to produce the desired temperature in the butter chamber.
In an alternative embodiment of the device, the housing also includes an air duct which forms a circulation passage for circulating air through the butter chamber and over the butter. A fan is provided to move air through the air duct and the butter chamber.
The device also includes a butter dish which is designed for use with the housing and can hold two quarter-pound sticks of butter. The dish is preferably constructed of two identical halves that can be separated from one another so that one half of the dish can be used on the table while the other half is being cleaned.
Further objects, features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from a consideration of the following description and the appended claims when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings.